Everyone's sick of ABBA I was gobsmacked when I heard this phrase through the earpiece of the telephone the other night. And given the fact it was said by my partner in running ABBAMAIL, it was doubly shocking. It came about during a conversation where I was lamenting the lethargy in the ABBA fan community at the moment. Long term ABBA fans are dropping like flies. We're seeing it on ABBAMAIL's internet mailing list but also everywhere else in the fan community right around the internet. I received an email the other day from someone who was leaving ABBAMAIL's internet mailing list after many years and he said he was leaving ABBA fandom - completely. So, he wasn't just leaving the list, he was basically not going to be an ABBA fan from that point onwards! We still have a strong, loyal and dedicated bunch of ABBA fans on our internet mailing list but I think - at least at the moment - many of them are staying on the list because of the strong friendships they've made over the last ten years and not because they're especially interested in ABBA at the moment. ABBAMAIL has, over the years, become part of their daily ritual - they couldn't imagine life without it. I'm glad because I think some of the people who have left are going to regret it in the future. When I first began to get a sense that people were sick of ABBA - and by "people", I'm referring to ABBA fans - long term, hard core ABBA fans - I was perplexed. Sure there's been nothing happening in the ABBA world for a long time but we've been through those periods before. Indeed, before the internet, those periods lasted years and years ;-) The next thing I thought - which is probably very "me" = was: "Shit, I've got to do something about it!" I say that thought was very "me" because it is a bit like every other decision and action I've taken in ABBA fandom in the last 30+ years. When RCA told me, at age 15, that there was no ABBA fan club in Australia (even though there actually was), I didn't think "oh that's too bad," I thought "I have to start one. Today." Someone should have tapped me on the shoulder and said "It's not always all about you, darling." ;-) Probably wouldn't have listened anyway! So the very next thought I had was: is this just me and ABBAMAIL or is it happening elsewhere in ABBA fandom? So I began to do some research and look around the internet. I also did some experiments and tests of fans' attitudes and what got them excited about ABBA in 2007. I didn't like the results of my research and experimentation. Lethargy The ABBA fan lethargy wasn't just happening here - it was happening everywhere in ABBA fandom. The passion, the fever, the excitement - it's pretty much gone. Of course there are still a few die-hards out there who claim to be just as passionate and excited about ABBA as they were 5 years ago - but look at their actions rather than their claims. Look at the amount of time they spend on ABBA related activities, what they've been buying recently and so on. You'll see a very different story. Of all the world's ABBA fans, I've got more reason to be sick of ABBA than anyone else - after having legal threats and bullying from ABBA and their business partners, Universal Music, I don't think anyone could blame me if I had just thrown my hands up in the air and said "that's it, ABBA suck, I'm outta here!" But since I haven't done that and I'm still here - I was even more perplexed as to why ABBA fandom was dying a slow death. And it is a slow, painful death. People aren't doing the old "screaming it from the balcony and having a temper tantrum" thing any more. They can't even be bothered doing that. They are just quietly walking away from ABBA fandom without any fuss. Some I know have even begun to sell their ABBA collections - and remember, some people have spent the last decade collecting or re-collecting a lot of their ABBA memorabilia. So what gives??? Sure, there are a lot of reasons you can come up with for people being fed up with ABBA and ABBA fandom. I scrawled down a few during my research into the situation... 7 Reasons why 1. 10 years of the internet and living and breathing ABBA every day, through revival after revival and the omnipresence of Mamma Mia!, the musical - it's just too much ABBA. Ten years ago people were excited to know every last detail, now they know everything and they don't need to know any more; 2. Fans are satiated - they spent years trying to track down everything they were missing and now they've got it all. The back catalogue has been re-released, remastered and repackaged a million times - the 4 disc box sets and the bonus tracks are all out there. The Movie, the film clips, the "live" TV special are all there for the taking. There's a stack of ABBA books on the market, there's even an ABBA calendar every year after two decades of nothing. Everyone has just about as much ABBA as they can take. They've reached tilt!; 3. Individualisation. Actually, I don't even know if that's a word - I might have just made it up. But what I mean is this: ABBA fandom was all about people joining together in fan clubs, mailing lists, forums, being pen-pals etc. etc. etc. Everyone had a common cause and it brought us all together. The normal things that keep us apart and annoy us about each other were put to one side because the "big picture" was more important. But now we've mostly got what we want, we're not that interested in pulling together anymore. People don't want to join a forum or a list, they want to start their own blog or website. They don't want to share ABBA information, they want to "own" information. Long term fans have gone back to being primarily concerned with what they want and bugger the rest of ABBA fandom; 4. Time-poor modern life. At the beginning of all of this, when the internet first started, people were excited to see an ABBA website, or join a list - they were excited to see their in-box fill with emails from other ABBA fans and to read what other fans thought and felt. Now that excitement has turned into annoyance as people experience an overflow of email and information generally at work, at home, 24/7. They don't want to commit to being involved in anything that requires a regular commitment of time, energy, interest etc. They want to shut out the overload as much as possible and only "dabble" when they feel like it. They might visit an ABBA forum or website for two or three days and then not go again for 6 months. It's a sign of the times; 5. Universal Music suck at handling the ABBA catalogue. They really, really do. Their handling of the ABBA catalogue, apart from a few highlights, has been mediocre and uninspired. More than anything, they've made being an ABBA fan boring. They've served up the same cold left-overs in a new dish again and again. Most recently with "Number Ones." That ill-conceived release seemed to be a bridge too far for some ABBA fans - it was the straw that broke the camel's back. And every time there is the possibility of getting something "new" in terms of a TV performance or rare track - we have to pay for the same old hits again just to get a few measly grains of something interesting. How many times have we paid to get "ABBA's Greatest Hits?" 6. Universal Music are power-crazed megalomaniacs. They really are - and it has backfired on them. They've spent years trying to shut down website and ABBA fan magazines and they've only succeeded in killing a lot of ABBA fandom. They made something that was supposed to be happy, fun, a "positive" part of life - being an ABBA fan - into something hard and ugly. They've threatened, they've bullied, they've allowed homophobia to run rampant on their own official ABBA website and they've closed down their own fan forum with no notice and no discussion. They've tried to shut down ABBAMAIL and rather than go quietly, we kicked and screamed and made damn sure everyone knew what they were trying to do. Their antics have split the fan community right down the middle. I know quite a few ABBA fans that have walked away from ABBA fandom solely due to this. They were totally disgusted by Universal's actions and the fact that the members of ABBA allowed it happen. 7. ABBA - the members of ABBA themselves. Everyday seems to be a bad-news day - tax fraud, distasteful interviews with Björn who uses gold records as a door stop at his house. Such is the disregard and contempt he has for ABBA's legacy and ABBA fandom. Benny is the same - can't stand being reminded of the ABBA years - actually rolls his eyes - but he's still happy to cash all the cheques he receives from the sale of "Greatest Hits Volume 34,659" and Mamma Mia! And seriously, Agnetha and even Frida aren't much better. The overall impression you get is that it is all about making the most money as far as the four of them are concerned. Anything that could excite or reward long-term ABBA fans - like releasing unreleased material from the vaults - is continually vetoed. Anything that could inject some excitement into ABBA fandom from an official perspective is instantly vetoed. They even refuse to be photographed together. Agnetha, Björn, Benny & Frida certainly don't make it easy to be an ABBA fan. From my little list, that's about all the reasons I can think of for this desertion happening in ABBA fandom. To me, it still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me but then again, I'm weird. ABBA's record company were trying to close down the Australian ABBA fan club that I ran back in he 70s/80s. They tried three times back then and I still kept going. So, I guess you could argue that I'm used to being treated like shit by the members of ABBA and their record company. Bigger fool me for coming back for more! ;-) Still, the whole ABBA / ABBA fandom thing lives on for me. Yes, it is boring at the moment and yes, ABBA and Universal are shits - but that's nothing new for me. I've been an ABBA fan since 1974. So that means that I have been an ABBA fan for two-thirds of my adult life (I'm 46 now). Something like 33 years. I can't walk away from it that easily. And I can't walk away from the friends I've made and people I've met during those three decades easily either. So when Grant said "everyone's sick of ABBA," I guess I was shocked because I both knew it was true but also because I wasn't happy about hearing it said out loud. Then, as I said above, I went straight into "how do we turn it around" mode. So far I haven't come up with anything startling. I must admit that that the lethargy and cynicism amongst ABBA fans - and yes, most of it is very justified - has taken a big toll on me. And coming just after the whole Universal/ABBA trying to sue me debacle - well, it's hard to be uber "up" and "creative" and positive about things connected to ABBA. Will Mamma Mia! turn it around? I've had a belief for some time that there will be a watershed moment (god I hate that word!) next year when Mamma Mia! is released as a movie. I have a good feeling about it primarily because of the talent involved. Mamma Mia!, the stage show, is basically a load of shit - the script is appalling. It is only because of the ABBA music that it worked at all. But I feel the movie is going to redeem this. People like Meryl Streep - one of the greatest actresses of all time - doesn't sign up voluntarily to a movie that's got a crap script and is an embarrassment. She doesn't need the money, she doesn't need the work - she WANTS to do the film and she BELIEVES in the film. And she tends to bring a touch of class to everything she becomes involved in. So yes, I have high hopes for Mamma Mia! as a movie. I think it will be much better thought-out, much better scripted animal than the stage show. And when the hype starts to build up next year - I think it will bring a lot of people back into ABBA fandom. I think quite a few of those lost sheep that have wandered away will get excited again and want to get back on board ABBA fandom. Yes, I could be totally wrong about this but I just have a gut feeling about it. ABBA - The Album's deluxe edition isn't going to salvage ABBA fandom. It's cute but it doesn't really have a lot to offer hardcore fans. And in discussing it with fans, I get the feeling that a lot of people won't be queuing up on Day 1 to buy it. They will buy it in time, but right now it isn't considered a "must have." So it's all up to Mamma Mia! - The Movie. That is, unless Agnetha or Frida come down from their high horses and release an album. Because that would be the one other single event that could bring the lost souls back to fandom. Remember the emotion, the excitement, the hysteria in 2004 when "My Colouring Book" was released? Even with all the previous ABBA revivals and events, I've never witnessed anything like it in my whole life (not since ABBA mania in Australia, anyway!) Let's face it, a new BAO! album isn't going to get us all moist and dripping - but the prospect of a new CD by Agnetha or Frida, now that would be a completely different thing altogether. How do we turn it around? Meanwhile, we're left with a dilemma - how do we get ABBA fandom back on track? How do we bring some fun and excitement back? I've created a topic on ABBAMAIL's Fan Forum to get people's opinions and ideas. Hopefully, if you're reading this column, it means you're still interested in ABBA fandom and want to help turn things around. To comment, you need to register with the Forum - which is easy and automatic - you'll get a confirmation email when you register. Here is the link to the topic:
http://abbamail.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1169&st=0#entry9651 And here's the link to register with the Forum
http://abbamail.ipbhost.com/index.php?act=Reg&CODE=00 I'm really interested to read your views and ideas.
Graeme Write to Graeme with your feedback and comments: graemer@zipworld.com.au PREVIOUS AT MY DESK | 
